Dear Boy, Dear Girl
by babedarlingpotter
Summary: Ginny needs someone by her side to comfort her but she has no one else to turn to. Maybe writing a letter will help? But to whom is the question... A few days later, Harry finds a floating bottle near the shore of the lake and inside was some parchment..
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Set some time after what happened in the Chamber of Secrets...**

Ginny strolled down the perimeter of the lake. She had finally escaped from the Hospital Wing with the help of her brothers, and she had finally given them the slip. The past days had been very tiring. Whenever she wanted to be alone, someone is always there to bug her. The only person that she wanted right beside her couldn't care less if she's suffering on the inside, as long as she's physically healthy. 'Right bloody moron, he is…'

Taking a sip from her smuggled butterbeer bottle, Ginny savored the warmness in her mouth, warming her up from the inside out. The wind picked up and blew her hair about. Her thoughts left her trivial musings and delved into deeper topics. Like why did Malfoy Sr. choose to give her the diary? Did have to be her specifically? Or was she just at the wrong place at the wrong time?

She sighed into her empty bottle, suddenly fighting the urge to smash it into her head for being so naïve. Of course, she wasn't naive now, not as innocent as she wanted to be. She's dirty. Foul. Tainted – damaged goods. No one will ever like her again, at least, not in the way that she would want to. Perhaps she could tough it out, live alone when she's old enough to. Perhaps she could get on with life, no annoying brothers, no doting mother, no concerned teacher, and definitely no 'I-don't-know-what-I-feel-about-you-right-now-so-I-should-keep-my-distance-so-that-your-brothers-won't-skin-me' bloody crushes to get in her way.

Perhaps she could do that…in time.

But Ginny didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to live life as a recluse. She was a Weasley for goodness' sake! Weasleys thrive in their tight knit families. She couldn't leave it all behind…at least, not yet.

Ginny heard some parchment crinkle when she repositioned herself. Diving deep into her pocket, she took out a letter. It was addressed to her future love. She had written this one night when she couldn't sleep. The nightmares were horrible on that night.

Her letter read:

_Dear Boy,_

_I don't know who you are, or where you are from, or when we will meet, but I hope it will be soon. I feel that the time has come for me to become a woman and have a boyfriend. I need your comfort right now for I have just come out of a terrible ordeal. I want you to hold me close and whisper comforting words in my ear. I want you to kiss all of my tears away and to tell me that everything is gonna be okay._

_When you meet me and I you, I hope that you'll love me for me and not hope for a more pretty or richer girl than me. I hope that you won't compare me to other girls that you meet, whether they are older than me or more developed. I want you here to be with me through thick and thin and be there for me when I'm ill or just needing a hug._

_Remember that I have brown eyes – not hazel, not black – just brown. Please know that my favorite flowers are lilies, not roses but snowdrops are okay too. _

_I know that I will be too shy to initiate kisses to please make the first move. I promise I won't slap you or push you away, but it might take some time for me to respond. I hope you're okay with that. Don't worry; I'm sure your kisses are perfect, because I know that they are yours._

_And when we are out on a date, it doesn't matter where we are, as long as I'm with you and having fun, I'll be happy. I don't mind paying for my share of the expenses but it would be incredibly romantic if you pay for them, not to mention that my family is kinda tight on the budget._

_If I cry, please know that it isn't because of you, just hold me close and I'll heal quickly. And, if it is because of you, I'll heal just the same._

_Please tell me if anything I do bothers you, or if something just doesn't sound right. I would like you to be always honest with me. If I have a bad day, I hope that you'll be there waiting for me, waiting to shower me with confidences and warm smiles._

_I hope that you don't think I'm asking too much of you. I hope that you understand that I'm a little nervous and a tad bit scared. I wish I could know the exact how and when we meet but alas, life is like a game of chess but sadly, I'm not the one who is the expert on that particular game in my family – that's my older brother._

_When you read this, please know that I will try my best to keep our relationship strong. I know that I will love you just the way you are, so please don't change. Thank you for reading this letter for that is all I'm asking of you._

_I hope to meet you soon. I'm breaking right now and I need your comfort._

_Yours always,_

_GMW_

She was too self-conscious to sign her full name. Thinking that whoever might get hold of her letter might make fun of her if s/he ever knew that it was her who had written it. She'll never hear the end of it if Malfoy got a hold of it or worse, her _brothers._

Taking a deep breath, Ginny rolled the letter and shoved it in the bottle. She nursed the bottle in her hands for a minute before throwing it out into the lake. Her thoughts were running a hundred miles an hour. It might just be some kind of superstition but she did not care. It made her feel better that someone out there can love her as she is – tainted goods or not.

Maybe she will not be a recluse in the near future.

**A/N: Okay, I got this idea from an excerpt in a book I recently read. It's called 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage soul III'. Try it some time, it's a great book with a collection of stories.**

**babedarlingpotter**


	2. Chapter 2

A young boy was sitting by the banks of the lake, his robes on the ground a few feet away, leaving only his loosely buttoned shirt and his rolled up pants. The weather was so hot, hot enough to make him relax, to get away from this year's troubles. Who would've known that a guy like him could get into so much scrapes?

The young boy sighed, savoring the warmth of the sun's rays. For all he knew, this might be last time he'll ever feel this warmth. He was sure that his friends will not leave him alone at all; it was just luck that he managed to slip past them. In a sick, twisted way, he was glad that everyone's attention was on Ginny, and not him.

His content smile slipped off of his face. Ginny… his best friend's sister. He shouldn't be happy about her predicament. No one deserved what she is going through right now, not even his enemies – not even his cousin. 'If only I could do things over…' he thought, resting on a rock. It felt hot from being out in the sun all day.

Taking a deep breath, the young man stood up and stretched. The sun was setting low in the sky and he should probably head up back to the castle. His friends will be worried sick by now. Fighting the urge to just stay on top the rock and reveling in the breeze that messed up his hair, he took one last glance on the lake. It probably was his favorite place on the school grounds. No matter how much he loved to fly, nothing can ever compare to the relaxing feeling the lake gives him. 'If only I could say here forever and – "his thought was left hanging for he saw something bob up and down in the water. What could it be?

He jumped off the rock, not even wincing as he landed on the small pebbles. Curiosity built up inside him as he waded into the cooling water. Meters away from the shore, he abruptly stopped. He could not go further. The water had gone deeper and he could not swim across. He growled in frustration. What should he do? An image of his wand popped into his mind. His wand!

Searching through his pockets frantically, he finally found his wand in the back pocket. He quickly muttered the first spell that came into his mind, "Wingardium Leviosa…" the thing in the water slowly gained height. It was fully off the water now and the guy recognized it as a small bottle. A bottle of pop perhaps? But something was inside it…

Seconds ticked by and the bottle levitated closer to him. It was only a few feet away now…it was within arms reach and the boy plucked it up from the air. It definitely was a bottle – a glass bottle, complete with a label that read 'Butterbeer'. What is a butterbeer? Has it got alcohol? How is butter in the equation?

Question zoomed in and out of his head but only one stood out. What was inside the bottle? It seemed like a letter. Interest swelled up inside of him. It wasn't addressed to anyone so that meant he wasn't invading anyone's privacy…right?

He was now perched on the rock again, completely ignoring the setting sun on the horizon. He read the letter, his heart going out to the girl who had wrote this letter. Whoever she is, she had gone through lots of things. Things not even her family can help her with. He certainly wanted to help her out.

Getting out his quill, ink bottle and his stack of parchment, he made a start on his reply. He just hoped that the girl would get this letter…wherever she is.

_Dear Girl,_

_I have read your letter and I am deeply touched by it. I may not be the most emotional of guys since I grew up with a horrible childhood, but I hope that I have enough experiences with love to keep this relationship going. Yes, I would love to be your boyfriend._

_I probably am not that much of a looker but I hope that you'll accept me for me. I'm not just a scrawny boy with wire-rimmed glasses and wild hair. I have a charming personality; at least, that is what my friends say. I will try my best to comfort you when you are down – I will make it my personal mission if you want. I'm good at stuff like that._

_If you meet me, don't be surprised that you might have known me before. I'm quite famous you see but please promise me that you'll look past my fame and get to know the boy behind it._

_As I have told you before, I wear glasses and have wild, uncontrollable hair. But please look beyond my dorky features and see the green eyes that I know have seen too many horrors for someone my age. Please see the always clenched jaw as I battle through various problems everyday._

_If I ever do something to upset you, please tell me what I did wrong for I'm not the most perceptive of people._

_I hope that my gifts for you are the ones that you liked, but if you don't please know that I tried my best looking for it and I will try harder next time. Please don't get said if I forget that your favorite flowers are lilies and instead give you roses, they just remind me of your kissable lips – yes, I know your lips are going to be kissable, knowing that they are yours._

_I don't mind paying for our dates since I have quite a lot of gold in my vault in the bank but I hope that you won't laugh if I make a fool of myself during our first date. I don't know how to dance so I doubt we'll be going to a disco or a ball or something like that. I hope you don't mind that. _

_Please remember that I'll always be here for you. Don't hesitate to ask for me even if I am busy as hell. Know that I will always have time for you because I will always give time to the ones I hold dear and love. I know that I will love you, Girl…it just might take some time for me to notice that._

_I hope that I meet all of your expectations and maybe more. I know that you are nervous and scared, don't worry 'coz I feel the same right now. I wish too, that I know when and where we'll meet and to tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of chess myself – that title goes to my best friend!_

_Know that I will be waiting for you patiently, my love._

_Yours always,_

_HJP_

He took an envelope from on of his bag's pockets and wrote 'GMW' on it. He then shoved the letter into the bottle, the original one ticked safely away in his shirt pocket. Deciding to post the letter as soon as possible, he made his way to the Owlery and gave the letter to his trusted friend, his owl.

On that particular time in which his owl left for the darkening sky, he knew that he just made a friend. And if GMW accepted him as just he is, he probably had acquired not just a close confidant, but a girlfriend too.

Maybe she'll reply soon, with a letter of acceptance…

**A/N: Okay, second chapter up. It took quite some time for me to write, since my time has been taken up with school stuff, but you don't want to hear that. Okay, I think there'll be another chapter…I'm 75% sure. Does anyone know who the mystery guy is? I don't think I've been subtle enough…it's quite obvious who it's gonna be.**

**babedarlingpotter**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, since I saw that I haven't updated 'The Secret Garden' for a looong time, it made me think about my other stories that I haven't updated on. Mainly my Harry Potter fics. To be honest, I've totally given up hope. Every time I try and write them, I get a writer's block. And, just like any good author (I think), I'd read back to the things I've written and just go from there. Obviously, that didn't work out so well for me.**

**My Harry Potter fanfics were written when I was younger, twelve-ish years old. In my opinion, the way I write had completely changed since, so when I read over my work, I cringe. In my head, I'm saying, 'Did I honestly write that?' But of course, despite all those self-degrading thoughts of mine, I can't bring myself to delete these works. I love them too much.**

**So…yeah.**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own anything.**

Chapter Three

It was nearing midnight at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and all of its inhabitants were all tucked away, asleep in their personal dorms. Everyone, except four: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were having a fierce battle of chess in the Common Room, while their friends (or friend and sister, in Ron's case) watched on intently. Ron might be the chess whiz, but Hermione was a smart girl. She can fight her own battles in chess.

"Queen to D6," she pronounced with a smile on her weary face. It was midnight after all, but she was forcing herself to stay up. She _had_ to win this game. She _had_ to. It's humiliating if she lost to Ron, again.

Ron, on the other hand, was wide-awake. No one can deter him from a round of chess, especially if his opponent was Hermione. Harry was far too easy to beat, and Ginny… well, she was always deep in thought to actually pay attention to the game. As he eyed each and every piece, checking if any were in danger from Hermione's queen, he spotted an opening. She had left her rook unguarded, and if he eats that piece, then he'd be free to checkmate her King. It had nowhere else to go.

Smirking arrogantly, he said, "Bishop to E12." The Bishop moved diagonally and hit the rook with so much force that it broke into many sizeable pieces. From the corner of Ron's eyes, he saw Harry flinch slightly. He dismissed that thought, thinking that it was just because Hermione was going to lose. "Checkmate."

"What?" Hermione shrieked in surprise. "How did that happen?"

"Easy," Ron started, and then he proceeded to tell Hermione an exact play-by-play of his moves.

'Moron,' Harry thought as he watched his two best friends bicker. 'Can't Ron see that he's annoying Hermione by rubbing her loss in her face?' Harry shook his head, a faint smile on his face. He leaned back on the sofa he was currently sprawled on, and let the pillow by hit feet fall to the ground. It fell with a soft 'thump'.

_His thoughts wandered to that letter he had gotten from the lake just a couple of hours ago. He knew it was incredibly selfish of him to want GMW to reply immediately, for all he knew, she could be a student from the previous years – Harry shook his head in denial. It can't be. The bottle looked recent, as well as the letter. He remembered no moss when he had picked the bottle up._

Harry let out a puff of breath and let his eyes wander to the redheaded girl on the rug on the floor. She was half asleep, but an amused grin was on her face as she watched her brother and Hermione fight. Hermione was threatening Ron, while Ron, in retaliation, was mimicking Hermione, even going as far as making his voice go a tad higher.

"Oh Ron," he said in a falsetto voice, "can't you just be a gentleman and let the girl win for once?"

Hermione crossed her arms across her chest in irritation, "I did _not_ say that!"

The argument kept on going for some time, neither party knowing that minutes were passing by. They did not realize that Harry was half asleep already, and Ginny was thinking over how to break the two up – Bat Bogey Curse or just a simple hit from a pillow?

A loud ticking on the window ceased all arguments, and thoughts in Ginny's case. Harry, from the unsuspected change of volume, opened his eyes, and followed everyone's gaze to the window. What he saw shocked him. His owl, Hedwig, was carrying a bottle with a letter inside. Did that mean that she couldn't find GMW?

Harry frowned in disappointment and stood up to open the window. The owl rushed in, but instead of landing on Harry's shoulder like what Harry, Ron and Hermione had expected, Hedwig perched instead on the only redheaded girl in the room – Ginny. Perplexed, baffled and completely confused, she sent Harry a 'what-should-I-do?' look. She only saw shock on his face. Judging from his slack jaw, it seemed that he couldn't answer her questioning look, so she turned to Hermione.

"I – I think it's for you, Ginny," Hermione said in a faint voice. She was wondering why Harry, who was the only one allowed using Hedwig, would give Ginny a letter when he could just talk to the girl in question.

"Me?" Ginny pointed at herself, unsure, only to be pecked at by Hedwig. "Oh, I'm sorry, girl," she apologized, seeing her mistake, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm sure you're a talented owl, but are you _definitely_ sure that this is for me?"

"Just open the bloody letter, Ginny!" her brother, Ron, shouted with barely disguised excitement. He knew something was up, he just didn't know what, but he had a feeling that something good will happen. He sent a look at his best friend, asking him silently what the letter entailed. He was met, just like his sister, with a slack-jawed, shocked Harry.

Meanwhile, Ginny was already unfolding the letter. She had read 'GMW' on the back, written in the instantly recognizable hand of the one and only Harry Potter. When she read the first line, she was astonished beyond belief. It couldn't be…Harry? Harry got her letter, the same letter she had written and thoughtlessly thrown into the lake all those days ago? _He_ – she read the last line of the first paragraph – he accepted her request to be her boyfriend?

"Oh sweet Merlin…" she gasped before letting loose a few choices of swear words.

"Ginny!" Hermione admonished, "Language!"

"I'm sorry," Ginny replied with attitude, "but seriously Hermione, if you received this letter, I'm sure that you'd be swearing as well."

Hermione was just about to say something back, but she was interrupted by Harry. He had finally recovered from his shock.

"You don't like it, then?" he asked in a meek voice, but his question was heard loud and clear. Its bluntness took Ginny by surprise. Not only was Harry Potter acknowledging her, but he knew that it was her – the letter he wrote was for her. Does that mean he likes her? As in, _like_ her, like her?

"No!" she shouted, scandalized by his conclusion. "I mean, yes! Of course I like it, Harry. How could I not?" Whispering, she said, "It's from you…how could I _not_ like it?"

"But, you were swearing," Harry, unconsciously, was walking towards Ginny. And, unknown to the two, they were being watched by the other two occupants of the Common Room. They were glad, for once, that it was not them who were making all the ruckus of an argument.

"Why would you swear if you don't like it?"

"It's not like that," Ginny frowned, "I was shocked, that all."

A pregnant silence met Ginny's words. She chose that time to finish reading the rest of the letter. A smile played on her lips as she did so, and near the end, tears were flowing freely from her eyes. Ron wanted to comfort his sister, but Hermione's hindering hand told him not to. She had a feeling… She pulled Ron away up to the boys' dormitories. She wanted to have a talk to him in private, just in case he overreacts when he hears of the news, but since boys can't go to the girls' dormitories…

Breaking the silence, Harry asked, "So what does the M stand for?" He was now only a few inches away from Ginny, and his hand was itching to wipe those tears away. What's stopping him? 'Nothing,' he answered. He raised his right hand and wiped Ginny's tears away awkwardly. He had never done this before.

"Molly…" Ginny answered softly, "I'm named after my mother." She looked at Harry's deep, emerald green eyes. She found an emotion there that scared her with its intensity. "What does the J stand for?" she asked, and was quite confused when her question was met with a laugh.

"James," Harry smiled, running a hand though his black mane unconsciously, "I'm named after my father."

Ginny smiled, it was ironic, really. She was named after mother, and Harry was named after his father. She won't realize this until years later, but it was also ironic, that Lily Potter had red hair, just like her own, and Harry was the exact replica of James Potter, black hair and all. Also, she will not realize, years and years later, that those two lovebirds met through letters as well.

_Dear Boy,_

_I am immensely glad to have finally met you._

_Love always,_

_Girl_

**A/N: So…what do you guys think? I think it's pretty good, considering that I'm pretty rough on the third-person POV thing. I tried my best to keep in a limited third-person, just like how JKR writes in the series, but once I realized that I wasn't doing a good job about it, I just threw everything out the window and stuck with the omniscient third-person view. It was much easier to explain things that way.**

**Well, I know it's been a long time and I know you guys were thirsting for an update… I'm just glad that I've finished this story, because believe it or not, I hate leaving things unfinished. I'm sorry, though, for not updating for nearly a whole **_**year**_**. I'm kicking myself in the behind for that. Again, sorry.**

**Review? I'm not sure if the ending's crappy or not, but in my opinion, it's sort of sickly sweet. Depends on your point of view if you think sickly sweet's crappy or not. I don't think so. So yeah, nice ending methinks.**

**=]**


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